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If computer manufacturers want to continue doing business in one of the fastest growing PC markets in the world, they will have to oblige demands from Chinaâ€™s government to install censorship software that could also allow officials to spy on users. Beginning July 1, all new personal computers sold in China will have to contain â€œGreen Dam,â€ a program that prevents users from accessing pornography on the Internet. Although Chinese officials insist Green Dam is designed merely to help citizens lead healthier lives, computer experts warned the software could be directed to block all kinds of Internet content or allow the government to monitor Web-surfing and collect personal information.

Charles Mok, chairman of the Hong Kong chapter of the Internet Society, an international advisory group on Internet standards, told the New York Times, â€œItâ€™s like downloading spyware onto your computer, but the government is the spy.â€

To justify their concerns over the real purpose behind the Green Dam directive, industry experts and civil libertarians pointed to the fact that the softwareâ€™s developers have ties to Chinaâ€™s military and public security agencies. They also noted that the decision has the blessing of Li Changchun, Beijingâ€™s chief propaganda official.

Officials at Dell Computers, the third largest PC vendor in China, said they would consider including the software in new PCs only if it really is used to block pornographic content from children, and only if it can be disabled by users. Dellâ€™s rivals, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard, refused to comment on whether they would abide by the Green Dam directive. Some observers donâ€™t see how PC makers canâ€™t agree to the new rule, given what a lucrative market China has become for computer sales. More than 40 million PCs were sold last year in the country.

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The Chinese really are a cruel race. Contraception is very scare. There is only 1 child per family. The final straw is now the poor guys cant even get off looking a bit of harmless pornography on the internet. This will lead to war, you heard it first.

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Having worked in China last year, you cannot even access hpc.co.uk or facebook or hotmail already. You have to use the state controlled version of hotmail. I had to use a proxy server just to be to do the work, I was employed to do out there. The feeling in China, is not oppressive like you may think, like the old Soviet Union. You can tell that the people over there dont want be Western, they just want to be better Chinese.

I cant wait to go back to Beijing as soon as a contract comes up. I'll have to remember to a hooker instead of surfing for porn.

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The Chinese really are a cruel race. Contraception is very scare. There is only 1 child per family. The final straw is now the poor guys cant even get off looking a bit of harmless pornography on the internet. This will lead to war, you heard it first.

Abortion rates are alarmingly high though, so its not that they arent having sex.

Monitoring software will only work in monitoring those not clever enough to stop the monitoring, these arent the ones you need to monitor.

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Too late, one of the endless reviews government do suggested putting 'net-nanny' type software on all PCs by law. Protect the kids innit.

You can imagine where that would go.

Yeah. They'd get EDS (or someone similar) to develop it, it would cost about Â£25bn, it would never actually work, and by the time it was implemented we'd have all evolved into gaseous clouds and gone off to commune on a higher level somewhere out in space.

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basically anyone with Norton now has little ticks or crosses next to Google results. Of course you can turn it off, but the average internet user doesn't know where their mouse is let alone the options box for the errrr... little green ticks and crosses. You can register your site with Norton, only problem is they dont send out the confirmation email to confirm your registration, or at least thats what im waiting for right now, for about an how.

bottom line is, as i said before time and time again, its the 90% rule. They dont have to put up 100% internet security like 'they do in china' lol, we already have it!!!! Norton. Norton decides which sites are trusted!!!!!! Vodafone does the same thing. By default my phone would not connect to most of my sites as they are banned!!! Im banned!!! Im banned from Facebook!!! Banned from Google Adwords!!! Banned Banned Banned!!! And thats just the tip of the iceburg, there are hundredds of corporate filter systems that run by subscription. These companies essentially decide what is right and wrong and ban all suspect sites!!!! Ans all subscripbing corporate netweorks block workings from seeing it!!!

Its here!! Its Now!!!! Its NORTON ANTI FREEDOM ON EVERY NEW PC IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!! Hooorah!!!!

ps, i am aware that i cant spell adn as such much of my post doesn't make sense. i know i know. where do we come from..... i dont know, its just all so fiddly with all those keys and symbols on the and such and coordinating your train of thought with little tippy tappy actions with your hands and sometimes i just give up and the hands carry on tying like they know what their doing, its a bit like magic only its more insane that that really.

Edited June 11, 2009 by 50%deposit

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basically anyone with Norton now has little ticks or crosses next to Google results. Of course you can turn it off, but the average internet user doesn't know where their mouse is let alone the options box for the errrr... little green ticks and crosses. You can register your site with Norton, only problem is they dont send out the confirmation email to confirm your registration, or at least thats what im waiting for right now, for about an how.

bottom line is, as i said before time and time again, its the 90% rule. They dont have to put up 100% internet security like 'they do in china' lol, we already have it!!!! Norton. Norton decides which sites are trusted!!!!!! Vodafone does the same thing. By default my phone would not connect to most of my sites as they are banned!!! Im banned!!! Im banned from Facebook!!! Banned from Google Adwords!!! Banned Banned Banned!!! And thats just the tip of the iceburg, there are hundredds of corporate filter systems that run by subscription. These companies essentially decide what is right and wrong and ban all suspect sites!!!! Ans all subscripbing corporate netweorks block workings from seeing it!!!

Its here!! Its Now!!!! Its NORTON ANTI FREEDOM ON EVERY NEW PC IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!! Hooorah!!!!

ps, i am aware that i cant spell adn as such much of my post doesn't make sense. i know i know. where do we come from..... i dont know, its just all so fiddly with all those keys and symbols on the and such and coordinating your train of thought with little tippy tappy actions with your hands and sometimes i just give up and the hands carry on tying like they know what their doing, its a bit like magic only its more insane that that really.

I havent use the normally commercial antivirus/internet security in years. For some reason known only to the vendors my computer ran fine on the web, until I installed there software and then it run dismally slow, if at all in all settings. If after a few weeks of meddling, I could get it running, I would inadvertinly download some spyware or virus or some other little nasty and the it would infect my PC.

I only use ESET smart security these days. I wont waste my time on anything else.